Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr both lent their talents to Dolly Parton for her cover of The Beatles’ classic “Let It Be,” released on Friday, Aug. 18. While the Beatles frontman and drummer have reunited on a number of occasions, the song marks the first time that the two have been on a track together since Ringo’s solo cut “Here’s To The Nights” in 2020. The new cover will be featured on Dolly’s upcoming rock album Rockstar.
The song is a mostly faithful cover of The Beatles’ 1970 hit, but of course, Dolly, 77, does put a bit of her own spin on it, occasionally riffing with her powerhouse voice. While she does take the lead vocal, Paul, 81, and Ringo, 83, could be heard singing harmonies and backup vocals for a wonderful Fab Four reunion. Besides The Beatles, the song also features Fleetwood Mac drummer Mick Fleetwood, 76, and guitarist Peter Frampton, 73, who plays a scorching solo on the track.
Even though The Beatles broke up in 1970 and John Lennon and George Harrison have passed away, Paul and Ringo have reunited many times over the years both onstage and off. John was killed in 1980, and George died following a battle with cancer in 2001. Prior to the Dolly song, Paul had offered backing vocals on Ringo’s 2020 cover of Diane Warren’s “Heres To The Nights.” Prior to that, they’d collaborated on a 2010 song “Walk With You.”
Dolly’s upcoming album Rockstar boasts an epic tracklist of original songs and covers, loaded with special guests. So far, she’s released lead single “World On Fire”, “Bygones” (featuring Judas Priest’s Rob Halford), a cover of Heart’s “Magic Man” (featuring Ann Wilson), and a cover of Queen’s “We Are The Champions.” The album will be released on November 17 and features tons of musicians from different generations and genres, including Miley Cyrus, Sheryl Crow, Elton John, and many more.
Dolly announced her intentions to write a rock album after she was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame in 2022. She initially declined her nomination, but said she was inspired. “This has, however, inspired me to put out a hopefully great rock’ n’ roll album at some point in the future, which I have always wanted to do! My husband is a total rock ‘n’ roll freak and has always encouraged me to do one,” she tweeted at the time. Thankfully, she was still inducted and is still putting out the exciting new rock record.